Some entities, such as large corporations, government agencies, or universities, may maintain backbone networks to interconnect entity assets. For example, a corporate backbone network may be used to connect different data centers maintained by a corporation. Backbone networks may additionally include one or more points of presence for connecting the backbone network to the Internet. Backbone networks are themselves made up of connectivity devices, such as hubs, switches, and routers, as well as cables to connect the connectivity devices. These components of the backbone network provide the network capacity by which the data communication demands between assets (e.g., between data centers or computing devices) may be satisfied.
In order to increase backbone network capacity, an entity's network planners may engage in both short-term operational planning and long-term strategic planning. In the short-term, network planners may, for example, acquire additional capacity from an existing cable in the backbone network that has unused capacity, such as by paying for increased cable capacity. In the long-term, network planners may utilize new cables in the backbone network, thereby adding new routes between data centers in the network or augmenting existing routes between data centers.
Network planners typically perform both short-term and long-term planning based on the needs of the network. For example, a network planner may allocate more capacity between two assets in a network, or plan to allocate more capacity over time, to accommodate changes in demand between those assets. Traditionally, the demand between assets has been derived from currently-observed network conditions and estimates of how the network conditions will change over time. Typically, however, those estimates prove to be incorrect, thereby limiting the effectiveness of such forward-looking planning. It would therefore be beneficial to improve the modeling of future traffic demands of a network, thereby facilitating more effective early network planning.
The techniques introduced here may be better understood by referring to the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements.